Ladybug Trails
by Dongyrn
Summary: Ruby's growing up, and wants her relationship with Blake to do the same. She hits some unexpected opposition, and finds herself trying to prove herself once more but to a much tougher audience. Sequel to Sweet, Sweet Lemonade and the sixth story in my Lemonade series. Ruby/Blake (Ladybug) and Team RWBY.


**Standard Disclaimer:** All rights belong to those whose rights they belong to, primarily the glorious minds at Rooster Teeth, though quite namely not me. Don't own a thing.

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Beacon Academy  
Friday Morning

"Ruby, you coming?"

The red-headed leader of Team RWBY glanced up from her textbook at her teammate. "Sorry, Blake, I just need to finish this up… I'll grab a snack later, okay?"

"Well, okay," the Faunus replied, leaning over to place a short but tender kiss on her girlfriend's lips. "See you at class?"

"You betcha!"

Once the door closed, Ruby dropped the textbook in her lap and pulled another, smaller book out from under her pillow. She opened it back up to the place she had marked and began reading one of Blake's more smutty romances again avidly.

It wasn't that she was unhappy with her relationship, really. She and her older teammate had been going out for a couple of months now, but their intimacy was limited to kisses and snuggling. Not that she minded it, she really liked the snuggles, and liked the kissing bit even better.

She was simply curious about the, well, other stuff.

Ruby knew about sex, she knew Yang and Nora were happily engaged in the activity whenever feasible, a dubius guarantee with three other roommates for each of them. And while she didn't believe Weiss and Pyrrha were at that point yet, she could tell they were getting close. It was actually pretty adorable, watching the two fumble uncertainly with their relationship, but they were both so eager to please the other that no offence was ever taken if the other messed something up.

And watching the two of them, engaged together in their first real relationship, naturally made her reflect upon her own.

The redhead had no illusions about Blake's past. She knew the Faunus once had a boyfriend, a pretty serious one at that, by the name of Adam, and that their relationship hadn't ended well.

She was assuming Blake was no virgin, but felt it was a pretty safe assumption.

Ruby, now, was more akin to both Weiss and Pyrrha in that while she knew the mechanics, she was wholly unaware of the experience itself. Hence the current literature.

She tried to tell herself it was really just an educational endeavour.

A week ago, just as she'd begun to have such ponderings, she'd noticed that Blake kept a suitcase under her bed that she seemed to rarely access. And the occasional smut novel, as Yang called them, caught in the Faunus' hands were never seen on her bookshelf. Hence the surreptitious investigation, and subsequent pilfering of books from the bottom of Blake's rather significant pile stashed away in said suitcase.

The current story, one from a spinoff of the _Ninjas of Love_ series called _Pirate Booty_ , made her giggle at first. But then she read the back cover, and after noting that this concerned the exploits of an all-female crew of pirates, immediately picked it up and stashed it away in her bunk.

Ruby was tempted to take notes, but that seemed to go a little overboard, perhaps. She snickered to herself at the pun, but quietened as the passage she was currently on was getting to the good part.

The first mate, Foxy, had cornered the young cabin girl, Jewel, intent on ravishing her in her cabin. Ruby's eyes widened as she read how the older woman slowly inched the young girl's shirt off, exposing her pert-

Ruby jerked suddenly as a noise intruded into her consciousness, that of the door unlocking. She scrambled to tuck the book back under her pillow and grab her textbook once more, just as Yang strode into the room.

"Hey, I forgot to grab my… Ruby, what are you doing?"

"Um, er, you know, studying!" Ruby stammered, trying to calm herself down from reading the steamy passage.

"Uh-huh," Yang replied, unimpressed. "Then why is your textbook upside-down?"

Ruby glared at the offending book. _Busted._

"Well, I just sat it down for a minute to, er…" Ruby trailed off weakly. _Oh, who am I kidding, I've never been able to lie to Yang._

The blonde bruiser sat on the edge of the bed. "Hey, sis, what's going on?"

"N- nothing, really, nothing at all!"

"Well, okay then…" Yang drawled casually. "Then you don't mind if I see what… this is!"

With a triumphant shout, Yang's hand shot forward to pull out her clandestine book, holding it aloft as she stood upright.

"No!" Ruby squealed, leaping to her feet as well and vainly attempting to climb up her older sister's torso to retrieve the prize held just out of reach. "Please, Yang, no, don't-"

"Oh, my…" Yang's eyes got wide as she opened it to a particularly erotic passage. She looked down at her suddenly still sister whose head was down abashedly, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Ruby… where did you get this?"

The redhead sighed, slumping to the edge of her bed. "It's Blake's," she admitted quietly.

Yang stood there for almost a full minute without speaking. Ruby could have sworn that her violet eyes were ever so slightly tinted red at the edges, which was really beginning to worry her.

"Y- Yang? Um, you okay?"

"Fine, Ruby, I'm fine." Yang forced a smile to her face as she carefully slipped the novel back under Ruby's pillow. "Let's get to class, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry!" Ruby glanced at her scroll in dismay. "Gosh, I would have missed it completely! C'mon, let's go!"

The diminutive redhead grabbed her books and raced out of the dorm room, Yang on her heels.

She didn't notice the rather grim expression on the blonde's face.

Friday Afternoon

Blake was beginning to get a little worried.

Through both of the morning classes, shared with all of Team RWBY, Yang had been giving her funny looks. Some of them even downright hostile, though she could have sworn the blonde's violet eyes were almost filled with tears at one point.

She had no idea what was going on with her partner, but she was determined to find out.

After their final morning class, she turned and opened her mouth, but Yang beat her to the punch.

"Hey, Blake, you got a minute to chat?"

"Yeah, sure Yang," she replied, relieved that the blonde was willing to talk about what was bothering her. Perhaps she and Nora hit another snag? But why had she been looking at her that way?

The pair of them left the rest of Team RWBY and Team JNPR to head to lunch, promising to meet up with them later. As they walked towards the private training rooms, the Faunus noted that Yang was becoming more tense with each step she took.

 _What is going on with her?_

They reached an open room, checked it out to keep it reserved, and entered. Yang had not spoken a word since they left class, and it seemed she was unwilling to start now, as she paced back and forth, her eyes closed as she seemed to be mouthing something to herself.

Blake crossed her arms and leaned up against the wall. She endured the silence for a full five minutes before deciding that perhaps the blonde brawler needed a little push to get things going.

"Yang, I'm your partner, you can talk to me. What's wrong?"

"Partner, yeah, you _are_ my partner," Yang muttered, still pacing. "That's what is making this so tough, normally I'd just… well, not that I've ever been in this situation, but I always dreaded it, knew it would come eventually, but still…"

Blake blinked her eyes uncertainly at the incomprehensible ranting.

Finally, Yang rounded on her, stopping just outside of reach. Her arms were wrapped around herself as if in physical restraint, and the Faunus could see the same restraint locking what seemed to be raging emotions behind her eyes.

"Blake…" The blonde swallowed before continuing. "What are your… intentions towards my sister?"

The raven-haired girl's eyes widened. _Well, that was an unexpected turn._ "What… what do you mean?" she asked hesitantly.

"I mean…" Yang growled quietly. "How far are you willing to take things with her?"

Blake's eyebrows crawled even further up on her forehead. "Are you… um… Are you asking if I want to… to…"

"Yes!" Yang replied shortly. "Yes, I am. Are you?"

"Well, it hasn't really come up…"

"You sure about that? Haven't been giving her any ideas?"

"Yang, what's bringing this about? You've not had any concerns about our relationship before. We haven't done anything, if that's what you're asking."

"No, no I'm sure you haven't… yet…" Yang whirled around and began pacing furiously again. "I'd have noticed if you had, she's been happy, but not _that_ happy…"

"You're starting to concern me here," Blake interjected as calmly as she could. "Will you _please_ tell me what brought this all about?"

Yang stopped halfway across the room and spared her a glare. "You know Ruby is more to me than my sister, right? I practically raised her when mom died."

"Yeah, I know," Blake replied. "And I know that's why you're very protective of her."

"I am, I'm very protective of her," Yang muttered, resuming her neurotic pacing. "I try not to be, so much… but it's hard, you know? Hard to think of her as anything other than the little girl I used to rock to sleep, to help chase the nightmares away… even when she's leading us on a mission, as proud as I am of her, I still see that little girl…"

Blake sighed and slumped to the ground, resolved to wait her partner out until she finally got to the point she was trying to make.

"It's just… Look, I understand, she's growing up, has her first girlfriend, and you guys are great for each other, really you are… It's just… just…" Yang finally stopped again, tilting her head up and closing her eyes, her arms still wrapped around her middle. "So, you haven't, like, given anything to her? As in, hoping to, you know, steer her…?"

The Faunus was struggling mightily to follow where Yang was going with all of this, but sensed that perhaps they were finally closing in. "Not that I'm aware of, no. Given her anything like _what_ , exactly?"

The blonde bruiser opened and closed her mouth wordlessly, but the Faunus was suddenly struck with inspiration. "Yang, um… has she been reading from my, er, special stash?"

Yang seemed to deflate at the words, hanging her head down, the bright blond tresses covering her face like a curtain. "Yeah," she admitted quietly. "I caught her with one this morning when I went back to the room."

"Oh." _Well, that would explain some of the hostility, anyway_. "So… what exactly is the concern, here?"

"I don't think she's ready for that, is all," Yang softly explained. "And… and I don't want you encouraging it yet. Please."

While Blake was touched by the last word, she still felt the need to remind Yang of a few things.

"Yang… Look, I understand you still feel the need to protect her, but… She _is_ growing up, you know. She's not a little girl anymore." She glanced down as her scroll vibrated, Ruby asking if everything was okay. "And… she's my girlfriend, but also my friend, my teammate, and my team leader. She's all of those things. I would never intentionally hurt her."

While she typed out a brief message to reassure Ruby things were fine, Yang resumed her pacing. As an afterthought, she also added their current location to the message, just in case she went mysteriously missing. _Never hurts to take precautions_.

Finally Yang stopped again, her eyes still a whirl of conflicting emotions. "Just… You know how I feel." Her arms dropped to her sides, and she clenched and unclenched her fists. "And that's all I'm going to say for now, alright?"

"Okay, Yang," Blake nodded, getting back to her feet warily.

Yang gave her one last nod of her own and then stormed out of the training room, leaving behind a very perplexed Faunus.

As she was herself exiting, Ruby showed up in a flurry of rose petals.

"Blake! I saw Yang stomping off, she looked mad! What's going on?"

"Ruby…" The Faunus sighed softly as she placed her hands on the diminutive leader's shoulders. "We need to talk. C'mon, let's walk to lunch and I'll let you in on what's bugging Yang…"

At the cafeteria, Yang was morosely poking at her lunch while Nora patted her consolingly on the shoulder.

"I know you don't wanna hear this," Nora said softly. "But she really isn't a little kid anymore."

"I have to agree with Nora on that," Weiss interjected. All of Team JNPR as well as Yang swiveled their heads to stare at her incredulously. "What? She's not!" she huffed out defensively. "I know I might have held that belief at the beginning of the year, but for her physical age she has matured significantly. Even if she is a bit… high-strung."

"Spirited," Pyrrha agreed.

"Rambunctious," Ren added softly.

"Oooh, big word there, Ren," Nora teased.

Ren opened his mouth to retort, but it was cut off by a high-pitched yet booming voice that echoed throughout the lunch hall.

"YANG XIAO LONG!"

Those at the table turned to spy a small, red-cloaked figure who seemed to be trembling furiously as she raised a hand, finger extended, towards the outside entrance.

"OUTSIDE! NOW!"

With that, Ruby turned, her cloak billowing out behind her as she strode determinedly out, several other students hurriedly making way for the irate girl.

Yang sat with her mouth open in astonishment, fairly well mirroring the reactions of most of the students in the cafeteria, including the pair of teams at her table.

Another voice softly spoke up from behind her. "Um, you should really go, Yang," her raven-haired partner said apologetically. "She's… a little upset."

"Yeah?" Nora smirked. "I hear Nevermores can fly, too."

Yang gathered her wits around her again and stood up, flinging her blonde tresses behind her shoulders. "Fine," she stated. "We'll talk." With that she marched out to follow her little sister.

"Um, should we… perhaps intervene?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly.

"No," Blake sighed as she slowly walked towards the door. "They need to get this out." She paused and glanced over her shoulder. "But, maybe we should remain on hand."

With resolute nods, the rest of the table rose and filed out after the Faunus, sticking to the bushes lining the courtyard. Ruby stood in the center of the open space, her arms crossed irritably as she watched her sister approach.

"Now, listen here, Ruby…" the blonde began.

"No, _you_ listen to _me_ , Yang," the redhead retorted. "You will listen to everything I have to say, no interruptions, and then I will allow you to have your say. Understand?"

Weiss and Pyrrha shared an incredulous look. "Wow," Pyrrha mouthed. Weiss nodded in agreement before turning back to peer through the bushes.

"Yang, I love you," Ruby began heatedly, her words incongruous with the angry tone of her voice. "I will always love you and appreciate what you have done for me, how you were always there for me. But. I am not a little girl anymore."

"Ruby-"

"NO!" the redhead yelled, causing Yang to jerk back. "I'm not done! I am a team leader and a student in training to be a huntress! We have dealt with Grim and the White Fang, battled our way to almost the top of the team rankings! I! Am! Not! A! Child!"

Ruby took a step forward, and even though her voice was lowered slightly, it still echoed off of the surrounding building. "Whether or not I decide to have sex with Blake is between Blake and myself. You are my sister, not my mother, and even if you were it still would not be your choice. Do you understand this?"

Yang took a deep breath, and her response was soft enough to almost be missed by those attempting to overhear.

"Yes. Yes, I do, Ruby. And… I'm sorry. I just… I miss the little girl I could hug and make everything better for, you know?"

Ruby smiled, the tears in her eyes reflected on her sister's face. "I get that, I do."

"And… and maybe I'm just a little scared of you growing up, growing apart from me… But time won't slow down, will it?"

"No, it won't. But you won't ever lose me, Yang. We're sisters, that'll never change." Ruby smiled gently. "I really am growing up, though, even faster here at Beacon. Can't help but do so, with what we're being trained for and with everything going on around us. And while I don't need your permission to go further with Blake, I… I would still like your blessing, if that were to ever happen."

"Oh, Ruby…" Yang sighed, stepping forward and encasing her little sister in a warm hug. "I am… I'm so proud of you, what you've done here. And yeah, as much as it breaks my heart, you've got my blessing with Blake. You two are really good for each other."

"Yeah, we are," Ruby admitted, her smile swallowed by Yang's hug.

"And this is gonna sound corny… but you're my hero now, Ruby. I'll follow you anywhere, not just because you're my sister and my team leader… but because of who you are. I will stay with you all our days."

Ruby sniffled as she buried her face closer into Yang's chest. "You are such a dork," she muttered. "Making me cry in public. Are the others gone yet?"

"Yeah," Yang snickered. "They oh-so-stealthily snuck back inside when we hugged."

"I guess maybe I had them worried."

"Sweet Oum, Ruby, you had _me_ worried. That was quite the display."

"Well, I learned from you."

"True enough."

Friday Evening

"So," Blake said nonchalantly as they entered their dorm room. "We going to talk about it?"

Ruby fidgeted, pulling her cloak off and hanging it up. "Well… yeah, we should really." She plopped onto her bunk, twisting her fingers in her lap. "Where are the others?"

"Both off having dates," Blake said calmly as she curled up at the end of Ruby's bunk. "I'm not mad about the book, by the way."

"Oh. Well, that's good," Ruby laughed a little embarrassedly.

"So…" the Faunus prompted gently.

Ruby turned to face her girlfriend, her face betraying her anxiety. "Blake, I'm not gonna deny I'm, um… curious. And yeah, at some point, I wanna try more. But not yet, okay?"

"Oh, my sweet Ruby," the raven-haired girl laughed as she pulled the smaller girl into a hug. "I am most certainly not going to pressure you, or be disappointed in you. You figure out at what pace you're most comfortable with, alright? Just know I'm with you, however far you want to go."

"Really?" Ruby asked with a hesitant grin as she pulled back slightly.

"Yeah, really," Blake quietly replied before pressing her lips against Ruby's. The kiss stretched out as Blake tried to pour all of her affection and admiration for the small girl who captured her heart so unexpectedly.

Ruby eventually pulled back with a timid smile. "There… There is something I'd like to try? Um, if you're interested?"

Blake quirked her eyebrows. "What would you like to do?" she asked softly.

The redhead stretched behind her to pull out her clandestine book from under her pillow.

"Could we read this together? Maybe you reading it out loud to me?"

The Faunus barked out a surprised laugh. "Really? I mean, I don't mind, but… why together?"

"Well, for one, I like it when you read to me. I like the sound of your voice. But also… well, it's kinda intimate, right? And something we could do together…"

"Ruby, I would very much like to do that with you," Blake assured her. The couple settled back against the head of Ruby's bed, curled up next to each other.

"I love you, Blakey."

"I love you too, Ruby. Now, where did you leave off?"

"Um, right here…"

"Oh!" Blake blushed slightly. "Well, diving right in, I see… okay, then… 'Jewel's breathing quickened as the first mate approached her. Her small chest heaved with anticipation as Foxy licked her lips, placing her rough hands on the cabin girl's slim hips before slowly drawing them upwards…'"

* * *

 **A/N:** I totally think _Pirate Booty_ should be a thing. I'd buy it. Anyways, I've made a conscious decision to stick with the fluff in my _Lemonade_ series, remaining firmly out of lemon territory. (My apologies to those who have read my other Firefly or MCU fanfics and were anticipating racier stories.)

Also, yes _All Our Days_ was very much the inspiration for much of this, including Yang and Ruby's argument.

So, next up is the triple-date episode, which I'm calling _Trifecta_. It's gonna take me a little longer to get down, since I'm involving all three couples, and with the holidays coming up I might not get to it anytime soon. I'll try to publish something next week, but it might not be until the following week or so.

Thanks for reading! Here's the full listing of the _Lemonade_ series, in order:

 **Pink Lemonade  
** **Just A Little Ladybug  
** **North Pole Weather  
** **Snow Angel  
** **Sweet, Sweet Lemonade  
** _ **Ladybug Trails  
**_ **Trifecta  
** **Yuletide Lemonade  
** **Eros  
** **Lotus Song  
** **Strawberry Lemonade  
** **Ladybug Stitches  
** **North Pole Mirror  
** **Fallen Ladybug  
Sugar Rush  
North Pole Faith**

Stay shiny!


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